JPH027149B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a connector including a cap housing and a plug housing into which a plurality of contacts are inserted and held, and in particular, it is possible to miniaturize the connector. The present invention relates to an improvement in the structure of both the housings.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, connectors in which a cap housing having a plurality of contacts and a plug housing having a plurality of contacts can be fitted into each other have been widely put into practical use. These connectors are provided with engagement means that reliably maintains the fitted state of both housings and also makes it possible to release the fitting. Fourth
A conventional connector equipped with engagement means will be described with reference to the drawings and FIG.

The cap housing 110 and the plug housing 120 each hold, for example, six contacts (not shown) inside.
Both housings are adapted to fit into each other by relatively fitting the plug housing 120 into the cap housing 110. The plug housing 120 has a front end 123a fixed to its upper end for fitting into the cap housing, and is provided with a latch arm 123 having an engaging protrusion 121 at its center and a pressing protrusion 122 at its rear end. A protrusion 111 is provided on the inner wall surface of the upper end of the cap housing to engage with the engagement protrusion at the engagement position with the plug housing. When fitting both housings,
Plug housing 110 is cap housing 1
20, the latch arm 123
When the latch arm 123 is deflected, the protrusion 121 of the latch arm 123 engages with the protrusion as shown in FIG. 2, thereby maintaining the two housings in the fitted state. When unfitting the two housings, press the pressing protrusion 122 to flex the latch arm 123 to the position shown by the broken line in FIG. When the engagement of the two housings is released, the two housings become in a state where the engagement is allowed to be released.

However, in the connector of the above structure, since the latch arm is provided further above the upper end wall 124 of the plug housing main body as shown in the figure, the length of the plug housing in the vertical direction is large, and the entire connector is There is also a problem that the size increases in the vertical direction. Furthermore, as mentioned above, when uncoupling both housings,
The pressing protrusion 122 is pressed to release the engagement between the engagement protrusion 121 and the protrusion 111,
Since the pressing protrusion 122 is farther from the front end of the latch arm, which is the fulcrum, than the engaging protrusion 121, in order to move the engaging protrusion downward to the position where it disengages from the protrusion, the pressing protrusion 122 must be moved as follows. The distance S is set so that the engagement protrusion 121 is located further below.
only have to be moved. For this reason, in the conventional plug housing, in order to allow the downward movement of the pressing protrusion, it is necessary to provide a space between the pressing protrusion and the upper end wall of the housing body, which has a height equal to or greater than the distance S. There is a disadvantage that the plug housing and the entire connector become larger in the vertical direction.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and includes a means for reliably maintaining the fitting between the plug housing and the cap housing, and having a function of allowing release of the fitting. It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector that can be miniaturized.

(Structure of the Invention) In the connector of the present invention, an opening is provided at the upper end of the plug housing, the front end in the insertion direction is fixed in the opening, and the engagement protrusion protrudes upward on the upper surface of the rear end. a latch arm having elasticity in the vertical direction centering on the front end;
The upper end of the cap housing has an opening through which the engaging protrusion protrudes upward in the fitting position with the plug housing, and an engagement which engages with the engaging protrusion in the fitting position and prevents the plug housing from coming off. It is characterized by the provision of a joint.

That is, the plug housing in the connector of the present invention has an opening at the upper end of the plug housing and a latch arm within the opening, whereas the conventional plug housing has a latch arm further above the upper end wall of the housing body. As a result, the position of the latch arm can be lowered compared to conventional connectors, and the length in the vertical direction can be reduced. Furthermore, when uncoupling both housings, the latch arm can be displaced downward by directly pressing the engagement protrusion provided at the rear end of the latch arm that protrudes from the opening provided in the cap housing. The amount of the contact is smaller than that of the conventional one, and the length of the contact in the vertical direction is further reduced.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of a housing of the connector.

The illustrated connector is a two-pole connector as an example, and two male contacts 1B provided at the tip of a conductive wire 1A are inserted into the cap housing 10 in the direction of arrow A and are held in the plug housing 20. Two female contacts 2B provided at the tip of the conductive wire 2A are inserted in the direction of arrow B and held. Further, holder caps 13 and 25 are respectively provided on both housings via connecting bands, and when a contact is held in the housing, each holder cap rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. It is designed to firmly prevent the contact from coming off. The two housings holding the contacts therein as described above are integrally fitted together by the plug housing 20 being relatively fitted into the cap housing 10. The fitting of both housings will be explained below.

An opening 21 is provided at the upper end of the plug housing 20, and a latch arm 23 having elasticity in the vertical direction is provided within this opening.
The latch arm 23 has a front end 23a fixed thereto in the direction in which the plug housing is inserted, and an engagement protrusion 22 projecting upward is provided on the upper surface of the rear end. On the other hand, an opening 11 is provided at the upper end of the cap housing 10 to allow the engaging protrusion 22 to protrude upward at the fitting position with the plug housing 20. Furthermore, an engaging portion 12 is provided at the upper end of the cap housing adjacent to the opening 11 and comes into contact with the engaging protrusion 22 to prevent the plug housing from coming off. In this embodiment, the engaging portion 12 has a step portion 12a projecting downward, and the entire engaging portion 12 projects upward from the cap housing.

When the plug housing 20 is inserted into the cap housing 10, the engaging protrusion 22 of the latch arm 23 comes into contact with the stepped portion 12a of the engaging portion, and the latch arm 23 is pressed against the stepped portion and is bent. In addition, a locking piece 24a is provided inside the plug housing 20, which is bent upward when the female contact 2B is inserted, and engages with a locking groove 2b provided in the contact in the contact holding position.
A contact fixing lance 24 with
It is now possible to use this space to bend downward. When the plug housing 20 reaches the fitting position with the cap housing 10, the engagement protrusion 22 reaches below the opening 11 and is released from the pressure by the stepped portion 12a, so that it moves upward by its own elasticity. The moved engagement protrusion 22 has its side surface 22a engaged with the side surface 12b of the engagement portion,
The plug housing is prevented from coming out of the cap housing by the engagement described above.

In this way, in the connector of the present invention, since the opening is provided at the upper end of the plug housing and the latch arm is provided within this opening, the length of the plug housing in the vertical direction can be designed to be shorter than that of the conventional one. . Incidentally, since the plug housing is fitted into the cap housing, there is no problem in practical use even if the upper end is provided with an opening extending over almost the entire surface as shown in the figure.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the contact showing a state in which both the housings are fitted together. When unfitting the two housings, push down the engagement protrusion 22 to a position where the engagement protrusion 22 disengages from the side surface 12b of the engagement portion 12, as shown by the broken line in the figure. By bending the latch arm 23 to this extent, the plug housing 20 can be relatively pulled out in a direction to release the engagement with the cap housing 10. In the connector of the present invention, the engagement protrusion is located at the rear end of the latch arm and also functions as a pressing protrusion that pushes down the latch arm. When the latch arm is removed from the mating position, the lowest position is the engagement protrusion, and the vertical space required to displace the latch arm is smaller than that of conventional latch arms, which have a pressing protrusion further behind the engagement protrusion. . Therefore, the length of the plug housing in the vertical direction can be designed to be even smaller, and the entire connector can also be further miniaturized in the vertical direction.

Although the above embodiments have been described using a two-pole connector as an example, the connector may have any number of poles. Further, the specific shapes of the latch arm, the engaging part, etc. are not limited to those shown in the drawings; for example, the inner wall of the engaging part and the engaging protrusion may have a tapered surface in order to fit the two housings together more smoothly. It may be provided. Furthermore, the engaging portion does not necessarily need to protrude upward.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the connector of the present invention, by improving the position and structure of the latch arm of the plug housing, the vertical length of the plug housing can be reduced.
The entire connector can be downsized in the vertical direction. In addition, the connector is smaller and has a simpler structure than conventional connectors, and the material used to form the housing can be saved, thereby reducing manufacturing costs, and has extremely high practical value.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the structure of the cap housing and plug housing of the connector, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing how the housing of the connector is fitted. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the cap housing and plug housing of the conventional connector, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view illustrating displacement of the latch arm in the conventional connector. 10... Cap housing, 11... Opening,
12...Engagement part, 20...Plug housing, 2
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Opening part, 22...Engagement protrusion, 23...Latch arm.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cap housing and a plug housing having an opening at the upper end and fitable into the cap housing, the front end of the plug housing in the insertion direction being fixed in the opening, and the upper surface of the rear end being fixed to the opening of the plug housing. A latch arm is provided with an engaging protrusion that protrudes upward and is elastic in the vertical direction centering on the front end, and the latch arm is provided with an engaging protrusion on the upper end of the cap housing at a position where it is fitted with the plug housing. an opening that projects upward, and engages with the engagement protrusion at the mating position;
A connector comprising an engaging portion that prevents the plug housing from coming off.